Swiss, Iranian troupes to reprise “Tell/Zahhak” at Fajr festival

TEHRAN,Jan.7(MNA) – Switzerland’s Mass & Fieber and Iran’s Don Quixote Theater Troupe plan to jointly perform “Tell/Zahhak” at the 31st Fajr International Theater Festival, which will be held in Tehran from January 15 to 31. The play was staged in Altdorf and Zurich last July and August as part of the Myth Exchange program, which had been organized by the groups to celebrate 500 years of Wilhelm Tell plays in the city in central Switzerland. “Tell/Zahhak” is composed of three parts. The Iranian troupe will perform the first part on Wilhelm Tell, a legendary Swiss patriot forced by the Austrian governor to shoot an apple off his son’s head with a bow and arrow. Nasim Adabipur will direct this part. The Swiss troupe will play the second part on Zahhak based on a story from the Shahnameh, the magnum opus of the Persian poet Ferdowsi. This part will be directed by Niklaus Helbling. The story is about the mythical Iranian hero Kaveh the blacksmith who fights the tyranny of the evil ruler Zahhak. The last part of the play is a joint performance by the two troupes. Iranian members of the cast are Ramin Sayyardashti, Abbas Habibi, Mina Dorudian, Farbod Farhang and Arash Bozorgzadeh. David Berger, Silvan Jeger, Dominique Müller, Mareike Sedl, Nicole Steiner and Silvester von Hosslin are the Swiss members of the cast.